Improvement in the manufacture of ornamental articles in wood in imitation of carving



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

GEORGE WILLIAM LEY, OF ST. J OHNS ROAD, OROYDON, ENGLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN THE MANUFACTURE OF URNAMENTAL ARTICLES IN W000 lN IMITATION 0|F CAHVING.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 118,464, dated August 29, 1871.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE WILLIAM LEY, of St. J ohns Road, Groydon, in the county of Surrey, England, artist, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, have invented or discovered new and useful Improvements in the Manufacture of Ornamental Articles in Wood in Imitation of Garvin g; and I, the said GEORGE WILLIAM LEY, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof-that is to say:

This invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of ornamental articles in wood in imitation of carving. For this purpose the wood to be shaped to an ornamental form is cut into slabs crosswise of the grain, and such slabs are saturated with glue by boiling them therein. The time necessary for completing the saturation of the slabs will vary, according to their thickness. For slabs of oneeighth of an inch in thickness I prefer to boil them in the glue for about ten or fifteen minutes. The slabs of wood so saturated are then dried by exposure to a moderate heatsay, about 250 Fahrenheit-care being taken to avoid warping or twisting by alternately exposing the sides to a heated metal surface; or the slabs might be dried by exposure to the sun in summer, care being taken to turn the slabs from time to time to alternately expose their opposite sides to the sun to prevent warping. I prefer to cut the slabs in thicknesses of about one-eighth of an inch, and to form the blocks which are to be molded by gluing together two, three, or more of such slabs which have been saturated with glue and dried; but with some woods, such as walnut or birch, very good results may be obtained from single blocks of one-fourth or one-half inch in thickness; such blocks are, however, more liable to warp than blocks made up of two, three, or more slabs glued together. The blocks to be molded are cut to a suitable length and breadth, and planed, toothed, or scraped; and if the blocks are not to be subsequently veneered they are polished in the usual manner employed for cabinet-work, and pressed into a metal mold or die slightly oiled, having, in intaglio, the form or device intended to be produced. The pressure is continued and increased until the thickness of those parts of the impression produced by the shallowest parts of the mold or die shall be reduced by the pressure to the desired thickness.

For pressing the blocks into the mold I prefer to employ an hydraulic press. The pressure to which it is necessary to subject the Wood will vary with the nature and hardness of the wood and the depth of the pattern to be impressed into the block; but for comparatively hard wood, such as walnut, mahogany, and such like, I prefer that the pressure should be from about forty to sixty pounds to the inch, or to a greater pressure, if required. The harder woods, such as box, will sustain a great amount of pressure without injury. It is only necessary to maintain the pressure upon the blocks for a few minutes. If, after the impression has been taken in the above manner, any portion of the slab or piece shall have received no impression, from its not having penetrated into the deepest parts of the mold or die, then other slabs or pieces of the same prepared or saturated wood as that at first used are pressed in a mold into the general shape required, and are glued onto those portions of the slab or piece which have not received the impression of the die or mold; and when the glued surfaces adhere and are dry the whole is again pressed into the mold or die as before; and, if necessary, other pieces of the prepared wood are glued onto any portions remaining Without any impression until the whole of the ornamental form or device shall be as perfect as desired; or when molds or dies having, in intagtio, devices of less depth are used similar pieces to those mentioned in the last process, and of sufficient thickness, may be glued and dried in such positions on the slabs or pieces of prepared material as to be capable of receiving aperfect impression in every part. The molded impression may then be trimmed at the edges, and prepared for veneering by being brushed over with glue or other suitable material and dried.

These molded devices may also be stainedor colored, polished or varnished, and again pressed into the die or mold in order to produce the de sired finish and sharpness if not designed for veneering.

To apply the veneer, a piece of veneer of the Wood desired (such veneer being previously prepared as in the ordinary manner for cabinet-work, and also polished or varnished if it be intended to produce the ornamental device either polished or varnished) is, if necessary, covered with parchmentor similar material, being cemented or glued to the upper polished or varnished surface of the veneer, and slightly pressed between smooth surfaces of Wood, card-board, or other such material-the cement or glue being such as shall be readily dissolved without heatand these covered veneers are then allowed to dry. When the veneer is about to be used the under or unprepared, unpolished, or unvarnished side of it is covered with a coating of glue, and the veneer is then placed on the impression produced by the process already described, such impression having been previously covered .with glue. These glued surfaces are then slightly pressed together, and the whole again pressed into the mold or die, which has been previously heated and oiled slightly, and when cold the molded impression can be removed from the mold, and the parchment or other material being removed the surface of the veneer is washed or cleaned from the glue or cement and is again pressed into the mold, which maybe again heated and oiled. The impressions are trimmed around the edges and repolished, and when dry may be again pressed into the cold or heated mold and oiled, if required, the'object being to impart sharpness and finish to the impression. If, also, the surface of the veneer has been polished before subjecting it to pressure, the veneer, when molded, will retain its original polish. If the veneer Were not polished before being molded to form, its surface could not be subsequently polished without great expenditure of labor upon it. The object of employing the parchment is to prevent the veneer from breaking or splitting as completely as possible. WVhen the impressions desired are of greater depth than can be covered with one piece of veneer the most elevated parts of the impression in the prepared wood can be veneered, as above described, and having been dried and any unnecessary portions removed, a veneer cut roughly to the shape of those parts of the impression which remain uncovered, by the pieces already affixed to the impression, is placed on the uncovered surface and pressedinto the mold or die, the parchment or other material being removed, and the surface of the veneer cleaned in each operation, and the whole, if required, polished, or varnished and pressed, as described in the previous process of veneering.

The molds used can be varied in construction to suit the character of the ornamental device required. Molds produced by the electrotype process, and backed with brass or type metal, or hi ghly-finished castings in hard metal, and chased, are suitable. Thoseused for impressions separate from the ground on which they are to be fixed are furnished with an edge capable of cutting the impression out of the slab or piece on which such impression is made.

When it is desired to sink the molded orna ment beneath the ground a piece of sheet metal is cut to the exact form of the design to be so sunk, and this piece of metal is pressed into such ground previously to the impression being affixed to the impressed surface, a second mold or die, having a ground, being used for the purpose of pressing such impressions till dry.

By the process above described a veneered block of wood is obtained with the veneered face molded to the form of carving desired.

In the place of the block of wood being molded to form by pressure before being veneered the veneer maybe applied to the surface of the block, and such veneered block may be afterward subjected to pressure to mold its veneered face to the form desired. In preparing such veneered blocks the wood of which the block is to be composedsay, of mahogany, birch, walnut, lime, pear, or other such like wood, in a thoroughly dry stateis cut crosswise of the grain, by preference into slabs of about one-eighth of an inch in thickness, and steeped in boiling glue, as above described, and afterward dried gradually at a moderate heat, care being taken to avoid warping or twisting as far as possible.

To form a slab of large dimensions the slabs or pieces of saturated wood may be joined together at the edges by glueing, and may be glued together in two or more thicknesses, each slab or piece being placed across the other in order to prevent Warping, and also to avoid joints in the pieces or slabs being in the same direction or upon each other. These slabs or pieces of one or more thicknesses are then veneered on the un-' der and upper sides, and the upper surface of the veneerwhich is tobeimpressed is prepared andpolished in the ordinary way usual in cabinet-work, and such made-up veneered blocks are afterward cut into the length and breadth, or rather larger, than the mold or die into which it is intended to press them. These pieces of prepared and veneered wood are afterward placed, if necessary, into metal chases to prevent them from spreadin g or extending, either in length or breadth, and the mold or die being placed upon the wood so confined in a chase, the whole is subjected to pressure until the impression of the mold or die is perfectly produced. The impression is then removed from the mold, and is trimmed at the edges or shaped by planing, filing, or otherwise, as may be desired.

The groundwork of a design may be veneered with a wood differing from the ornamental molded design, in which case the exact outline of the groundwork intended to be covered with the different wood is cut out of apiece of veneer whichveneer may be polished or otherwiseby meansof a cutting-stamp or other convenient method, and the piece so cut out is glued and pressed upon the surface of the prepared and veneered wood, or the prepared or unveneered wood, already described, and when dry the whole is pressed into a mold and treated in the same manner as the slabs or pieces veneered in the ordinary way.

Some kinds of wood, such as box, walnut, mahogany, cut crosswise of the grain, and prepared as above described, may be molded, as before described, withoutbeing veneered and they require less glue or size, according to their relative degrees of hardness, the harder requiring less of the glue than the soft or porous wood. Wood cut crosswise of the grain, and prepared as above described, and carved roughly by machinery or hand, may be also pressed into molds, as before described, in order to produce the finish desired.

Ornamental articles in wood, made as above described, may be employed as moldings for cabinet-work and for the general ornamentation of with glue and dried before being subjected to the pressing operation.

2. The formation of ornamental articles in wood by pressing into a mold a block of wood cut endwise of the grain, and which has been saturated withglue or like cementing material and dried, and also veneered on the surface to be molded or impressed.

3. The formation of ornamental articles of wood by pressing into molds veneered blocks impregnated with glue, and having the outer face of the veneer covered with parchment, which is subsequently removed, substantially as before set forth.

4. The formation of ornamental articles of wood in high-relief by pressing into molds veneered blocks impregnated with glue, and having an additional layer of veneer at the more protuberant parts of the design, substantially as before set orth.

Witnesses: GEORGE W. LEY.

THOS. BROWN, JOHN DEAN. Both of No. 17 Gracechurch street, London. 

